Mild ciguatera poisoning: Case reports with neurophysiological evaluations

Ciguatera poisoning causes mainly gastrointestinal and neurological effects of variable severity. However, symptoms of peripheral neuropathy with pare sthesias and paradoxical disturbance of thermal sensation are the hallmark. Electrophysiological studies are often normal, except in severe cases. We report four people who developed mild ciguatera poisoning after barracuda i ngestion. Electrophysiological studies documented normocalcemic latent teta ny. These findings are consistent with ciguatoxin's mechanism of toxicity, which involves inactivation of voltage-gated Na+ channels and eventually in creases nerve membrane excitability. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.